15:30-16:15
Room 1

Friday 10 November 2023


Roundtable

Africa-Europe relations in the context of instability and geopolitical rivalry

Crafting peace and building a safer world

(Session co-organized with Open Society Foundations). Since 2020, there have been six coups in West and Central Africa, particularly in the Sahel, and now the ‘Coup Belt’ stretches from Guinea on the Atlantic to Sudan’s Red Sea coast. Recent political instability across the region is fed by high levels of poverty, poor governance, and insecurity, but also bears the distinct imprints of global power politics. The wave of military takeovers has revived the debate on governance, regional integration, migration, trade and how all these are linked to human rights, peace, and security. They have also raised tough questions about Africa-Europe relations in the context of renewed competition for Africa’s resources. This roundtable will combine evidence and policy analysis from both regions and lay out the implications of recent political and security crises for Africa-Europe relations.

Geert Laporte

Senior Executive, European Centre for Development Policy Management, Former Director of European Think Tanks Group

Moderator

Emmanuel Besnier

Deputy Director for Africa and the Indian Ocean, Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs

Speaker

Niagalé Bagayoko

Chair, African Security Sector Network

Speaker

Alioune Tine

Founder, Afrikajom Center, UN Independent Expert on the human rights situation in Mali

Speaker

Mathieu Pourchier

Executive Director, Tournons La Page

Speaker

Steven Gruzd

Head of African Governance and Diplomacy Programme, South African Institute of International Affairs

Speaker

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